Red Riding Hood was some psyched about auditioning for a role in Tom Thumb's new production, "Robin Hood." She'd been "acting all her life" and this was a place to showcase her talents, or so she thought. Red hit the stage, but not running. She not only passed out cold from stage fright, but almost took out a couple of the teachers on her way down. No one at Grimm Academy had probably ever witnessed such an embarrassing scene and it wasn't even from a play. "Hey," Wolfgang flippantly said to her as he helped her up, "I always thought you were a little dizzy, Crimson." Unreal, simply unreal that she'd flubbed the audition of a lifetime!

Mr. Anti-social was actually being nice to her for a change, but if he'd at least get the real shade of her name right it would be even nicer. It looked like Red's acting career was over before it even started and just the thought was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Avery's unusual distraction in the form of a "Clomp. Clomp. Clomp," a domp domping sound soon brought her out of her funk. An annoying basket was doing more tricks for her than a circus clown. Seriously! Wow, could this possibly be her magical charm? Cinda had those magical slippers and Red knew that it was "an honor for a charm to choose" someone. Could it possibly be happening to her?

It was grimmazing to have a magical charm basket, but better yet grimmtastic friends like Cinda, Snow, and Rapunzel. At Grimm Academy everyone "was a character from literature," including Principal Rumpelstiltkin. Stiltsky was certain that the academy was doomed for lack of finances and was 4-ever practicing alchemy. There were a lot of other practices resurfacing at the Academy ... E.V.I.L. ones. Red and her friends were tying to find the "long-lost treasure of Grimmlandia" in the Neverwood Forest with mapestry, a map of the land. "That basket," Ms. Wicked exclaimed to Prince Wolfgang, "is exactly what the Society needs!" Just what kind of evil was lurking around the halls of Grimm Academy? Would Red's magical charm be able to help save the Academy from disaster?
This is yet another grimmazing tale in the "Grimmtastic Girls" series. Initially I wasn't sure I'd be wild about it, but after reading about Cinda (Cinderella), I was definitely hooked. Mind you, I'm not exactly the target audience, but the love of a good yarn doesn't exactly have an age limit. Red Riding Hood is a modern-day gal who is way cool and fun. The cast of characters, in this book and in future ones, has that special spark that only Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams can create. They are coming alive and moving from the pages of nursery rhyme, fairy tale, and folklore books into the grimmtastic world of the Grimm Academy. Red Riding Hood, Cinda, Snow, and Rupunzel are definitely girls to watch out for.

Quill says: If you fell in love with the "Goddess Girls" series, you're going to love Grimm Academy and its grimmsastic cast of characters!